i will follow, if you lead
by Just Averie
Summary: If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.
1. Teaser

·i will follow, if you lead  
·By Averie  
·Character and locations property of Amy and Daniel Palladino  
·If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.-Lewis Carroll (Alice and Wonderland)  
·Written on January 25, 2005

·····

January 9, 2000  
Life isn't fair. That is my conclusion and I don't believe it's cynical. Especially since the gov't is sending me to live with some woman I barely know, just because Chris died. I also know that I should call him 'Dad' or something similar, but he wasn't a 'Dad', he was a 'Chris.' So now, I have to move to some Hicksville in the middle of Connecticut! I was perfectly fine with staying west. My case worker gave you to me, said I should, and I quote '_…record the most memorable moments, in a blog or something, so you're sure to remember them…_'. I have trouble thinking that makes sense since, if it's really a memorable moment, I'll remember it no matter what. Moving on, the name of this idiotic little town is _Stars Hollow_.

Thank the heavens for stupid social workers with the dough for a laptop,  
RLH_-(G?)_

·····

Stepping off the bus and into the small town, Rory Hayden shifts the weight of her bags for walking. She heads straight to _Luke's_, knowing that her mother will be there from the few times she'd visited the town in the past.

People murmur and glance at her as she passes, mostly about how she's the 'bastard daughter' of the towns favorite business owner. She glances at Miss Patty, a robust woman, before speaking, "Lacosta, shut it!" The woman, after taking a moment to look offended, goes back to the quiet murmurs.

Rory continues, rambling into the diner and walking to her mother before throwing her bags on the floor. The elder woman smiles warmly at her, engulfing her in a hug she knows won't be reciprocated. "Lori! You're here!"

"Rory," she corrects, pulling out of Lorelai's strangling embrace. "My name is Rory. I don't care what fantasies you've entertained about finally having your Princess Lori to appease this nuthouse's expectations, and I don't want to hear about them. I'm not here of my own accord and will not act as if I am." She sat, directing her attention to the diner's brute proprietor, Luke Danes, "You remember my order?"

Rory would admit, she liked Luke. One of the few townsfolk she could stand aside from Lane Kim, music freak extraordinaire, and Andrew Last-Name-Withheld, the proprietor of the book shop.

"Yeah. Hey kiddo, how you doin'?" He asked, a soft gruffness to his voice. He'd never much liked the elder Hayden, mainly for his hold on Lorelai, but he did like Rory, even with her tendency to misbehave. Of course, every person had at least one redeeming quality, her's happened to be her eating habits. They were nothing like the sugar-candy-caffeine-cholesterol laden habits of her mother or the expensive, picky habits of her father. She, more often than not, settled for water or tea and a salad.

Smirking up at him, she replied shortly, "As well as can be expected in the village of dupe's." She shrugged, "You?"

Shaking his head with a chuckle, the man replied, "About the same. I'll have your order in a minute."

Lorelai watched the exchange between her daughter and The Coffee God with conflicting emotions. For once, seeing Rory and Luke didn't make her hyperHappy or either or. She noticed her daughters questioning glare and turned to inspect her focus; only to see Jess Mariano, Luke's nephew and town badass. She watched with heated worry as Rory stood and charged the boys table, sitting across from him.

Jess looked up as the table shook, only to find a girl he hadn't seen before. "What?" he asked, rudely, wondering fleetingly who the girl was.

"I've been to this town every summer for twelve years, I've never seen you. Therefore, you're new and I despise you as much, if not more than, these miscreants." She sat back, arms crossed defensively over her chest and legs spread. Her hair fell every which way and she raised an eyebrow. A challenge to Jess.

Luke set the salad and water in front of Rory, looking between the teens, "Rory, this is my nephew Jess. Jess, Lorelai's daughter."

Rory grabbed a cucumber and ate it before standing and walking back to the counter. Picking up her bags, she walked to the door. "See ya, Luke." And she left.

Raising an eyebrow at his uncle, Jess spoke. "Lorelai procreating? Scary." After a moment, he went back to his book.

·····

Okay, so that was the first chapter, aka, the Teaser.

And before the one person asks, I'm not continuing 'Skin' or 'Bare Skin' or whatever at the moment due to an immense crashing on the hd which totally bludgeoned my ram and screwed my sys. So, I lost chapters 4-13, which is every one except 1-3. Moving on:

Any reveiws are of the muchly appreciado variety. And if anyone says anything, I'm not trying to be Spanish. I took two years of the crap and still understand it in a zero sort of sense.

Over and Out


	2. Books

i will follow, if you lead

By Averie

Character and locations property of Amy and Daniel Palladino

If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.-Lewis Carroll (Alice and Wonderland)

Written on January 29, 2005

**HadLeeMay, Smile1 **and** Encarta: **Thank you, very much, for your kind comments.

**Slayer365:** I would like to thank you for being so honest. I would also like to take this chance to say that I'm not trying to make Rory a badass, and I'm not saying she hates Lorelai. It's just, for my story, she's spent a few weeks every summer with Lorelai and now she's living with her because her dad died. Any teen would be a little… disrespectful in such a situation.

**Gilmoreaddict**: I like to think that the first chapter was misleading, but you could be right. In fact, you probably are.

¥¥¥

January 15, 2000

I'll be here a week tomorrow. I'm not used to being here and thinking that this is where I live. I'm still thinking I'll be back in California in a month and my entire routine will continue as per usual; I'll spend Saturday nights watching movies with Dan and Miranda, go to the same school I've been going to all year, and spend Wednesday taunting Chris on his mediocre arcade abilities. Okay, so I'm obviously still in the 'settling in' phase of the move, but I haven't hurt anyone like I did last time.

If you discount Kirk.

The town isn't really as bad as I like to make myself think; I get to see Luke, Lane and Andrew daily. My room, as I've forgotten many a time, has a huge bookcase. Even if it isn't as big as the one back in Cali.

I'm going to attend Stars Hollow High, starting Monday. I have three hours with Lane, luckily. On a less happy note, I also have three classes with Jess. His only good point is his love of books, and that's tainted by a Hemmingway fetish.

Must 'bond' with Lorelai,

RLH-G

(Yes, it's official, tell the world. Lorelai Leigh Hayden has been initiated as a Gilmore.)

¥¥¥

Stepping out of her room and into the kitchen, Rory ran straight into Lorelai. "Hey kiddo, careful." The eldest replied, cheekily, before heading to the sink to dump out a cup of her toxic coffee. Turning back to Rory, she flashed a smile. "So, what shall we do today? We could do a movie thing, or terrorize Kirk, or Taylor, or Luke, or we could solve the mystery of Pierpoint."

Raising an eyebrow, Rory questioned, "Pierpoint?"

"Babette's missing lawn gnome," Lorelai replied, pouring another cup of coffee and sipping it before dumping it down the drain. "He disappeared a few days ago."

Walking to the fridge, Rory pulled the bread down from it and started toast, "Gee, I wonder which townie could be as cold hearted as to steal a ceramic fairy tale creature."

"Are you insinuating it was one Jess Mariano?" It was an actual question, not a 'Duh' that Rory could snap at.

"That I am," was her short reply as her toast popped up. After listening to Lorelai talk as she slathered on jelly, she spoke again. "What's up with him, anyway?"

Lorelai tilted her head to the side, "And you mean what by that, my dear Watson?"

"I mean," Rory started, "what's his story. He's new."

"A-ha! So, you want to know the story of—" she stopped before finishing her sentence, her voice taking a menacing tone. "—Jess Mariano?"

Shaking her head, Rory replied, "Not if you're going to talk like that."

"Anyway," Lorelai started, sticking her tongue out at Rory. "I really don't know much. Luke's sister, Liz, sent Jess here after he did… something. No one knows what, but we're pretty sure it's bad. Jess' dad is a deadbeat who disappeared after Jess was born, and Liz is a whack job. Uhm, Mr. Mariano previously resided in NYC, City not Color." She paused, thinking, "He's somewhat of a bibliophile and he's already been through your Stars Hollow books and has six, or so, of them. List is on your dresser."

Eye's widening, Rory rushed back into her room and snatched the list off of her dresser before returning to the kitchen. Clearing her head, she read through the list; her expression relaxing. "You bought me more books while I was home."

"No I didn't," the elder insisted, dumping yet another cup of coffee, "Why would you think so?"

"I don't own…" she trailed off, looking at the list. "_A_ _Farewell to Arms, the Dante Club_, or _Antigone_."

"Emily sent over a few books," she replied, truthfully. Giving up, she turned off the coffee pot, "I miss my coffee."

Rolling her eyes, Rory walked over and poured out the coffee, rinsing the carafe before replacing it. She emptied the brew funnel and returned it to its place before grabbing a bottle of vinegar out of the cabinet and pouring it into the reservoir before turning on the coffee maker.

"Are you going to make me drink hot vinegar?"

Looking back toward Lorelai, Rory grimaced. She turned back to the coffee maker and watched as the vinegar came out a brownish black. Moving to the side, she gestured for Lorelai to look, "Have you ever cleaned this thing?"

Her brow furrowing, the Innkeepers expression puzzled, "You're supposed to clean them?"

"I'm not having this conversation… again." She turned her attention back to the coffee maker and poured out the hot vinegar as it finished 'brewing'. Returning the carafe and refilling the reservoir with vinegar, she watched another brown cycle and another and another before finally giving up. "Ugh." She walked into the living room, "You need a new coffee maker."

¥¥¥

The Gilmore's entered _Luke's_ a half hour later. Sitting at the counter, Rory ignored her mother and spoke to Luke. "The genius over here is upset."

Luke set down a coffee cup in front of Lorelai before filling it and turning his attention to Rory. "Why?"

"She needs a new coffee maker." At his questioning gaze, she sighed, "I ran vinegar through her coffee machine four times without any grounds and it all looked like coffee. Smelled it, too."

Downing her coffee, Lorelai looked at them cheekily, "Didn't taste like it."

"That breech's the confines of sanity." Luke replied before walking off to take someone else's order.

Lorelai turned to Rory, "He didn't take our orders."

As if on cue, Jess popped up in front of them, order pad in hand. "And you'll have?"

Lorelai smiled widely and raised her hand, "Ooh, ooh, me first! Me first!" Several patrons glared at her, Jess just nodded. "Chocolate chip pancakes with the chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Ooh, uhm, more coffee, and a donut!" She turned to Rory, "Speak, Miss tofu-roni and goat cheese."

Jotting down Lorelai's order, he nodded at Rory.

Once again ignoring her mother, Rory spoke, "Omelet and O.J."

Jess walked away and Lorelai started talking.

"You start school the day after tomorrow, how do you feel?"

Shrugging, Rory said nothing.

Lorelai's brow furrowed, "You must feel something."

Jess set Lorelai's donut in front of her before heading behind the curtain.

Ignoring her mother, as she so often did, Rory followed Jess up. She opened the door and stepped into the apartment, paying no heed to Lorelai's warnings. Looking around the apartment, she subconsciously realized she hadn't been there since she was ten. She noticed a curtain hung across the room, assuming it was Jess' area. Opening the curtain and stepping in, she raised an eyebrow.

Jess, looking up from his book, acknowledged her with a nod, "What?"

"Aren't we Mr. Social?" After a moment with no response, she continued, "I want my books."

"And you'll, what, glare at me until I give them to you?" He didn't move, instead turning his eyes back to the book.

Reading the title on the book, she realized it was _the Dante Club_…

…and he was writing in it.

"Get your lousy little pen off of my book."

And it stopped. His pen stopped moving, tip still resting on the page. He raised an eye too her, "You're really gonna freak when you see the rest of them."

"Do you actually live to annoy the hell out of me, or is it a perk?"

He ignored her for a moment as he finished his margin-note. "Honour."

Raised eyebrow, hands on hips, defensive stance.

"Honour bar. You have to pay for it, and it really isn't worth it in the long run, but it seems like a good idea at the time." He, once again, ignored her as he wrote in her book.

Taking a few steps forward, she ripped the book out of his hands. "I want my books, and I want them now!"

With an eye roll, he reached down and came back up with books, tossing them at her. "Chill."

He turned on the television, ignoring her.

She, on the other hand, sat her books on the kitchen table before walking over and sitting next to him.

Looking over at her, he sent a questioning glance before turning back to his program.

Not having missed the look, she replied, "Either I stay up here, or I go back downstairs and deal with Lorelai and the dupes."

"Wow, who'd've thought I'd ever be the lesser of two evils."

An hour and two programs later, she spoke. "So, what landed you here?"

He tilted his head in a position that looked extremely uncomfortable, "What makes you think it wasn't a choice?"

"Because, you hate it here as much as I do."

Raising an eyebrow, he retorted, "Doesn't seem to me like you hate this place."

"You're wrong. Now, don't change the subject. What landed you here? Stealing harmless lawn gnomes?" She smiled at him, but only a little. It was her first smile since she'd moved to Stars Hollow.

He shook his head, "You tell me yours, I'll tell you mine."

"Mine isn't really something I want to talk about."

He shrugged, "Neither is mine, but if you want to know…" He trailed off, the sentences intention clear.

"Okay." She stared at her hands, "My dad died. Murdered, actually. And, I saw it happen." She looked back at him, trying desperately not to cry. "Your turn." She failed miserably as the tears started streaming down her face. Her mind flashed vividly over the happenings of that night, watching, waiting.

"Oh, so your gonna be doing that—" he gestured to her face, the crying, "—for a while, then. Huh?"

Her voice was oddly steady as she spoke, "Probably." She rested her head back, willing the tears to stop.

Jess patted her shoulder, awkwardly, "Oh, okay. How about coffee? Did you inherit the caffeine addiction?"

Throwing her torso forward, her elbows landed on her knees and her chin in her hands.

Uncomfortable and awkwardly, Jess wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "You might not have guessed this, but comforting people? Not exactly my forte."

She tensed slightly as his arm rested over her shoulder, her internal monologue drowning out whatever he had said. She wiped the tears from her eyes and shrugged off his arm, standing up and grabbing her books off the table before exiting the apartment, and then the diner.

And Jess followed.

¥¥¥

He was afraid to ask where they were going, but after they'd sat on the bridge awhile, she'd stood and walked to the bus stop. He watched the stops and was only marginally surprised when she got off at the last stop in Hartford; the stop by the cemetery.

He hung back as he watched her approach a grave, less than two weeks old, that already had a visitor. He was more than surprised when she embraced the other person, placing a small kiss on his lips before pulling him down to sit beside her.

She set her books beside her father's grave before looking over at Jess and gesturing for him to approach.

He did as directed, walking toward the couple slowly. Rory looked between him and the other guy. "Logan, Jess is Luke's nephew. Jess, Logan is my boyfriend."

¥¥¥

Okay, so I'm convinced I was inebriated while writing this chapter. It was… quite odd when I read over it. Hmm… maybe I should get a beta.

Well, you know the drill, read and review.

P.S. I swear, chapter three is long and good. Well, all my test subjects said so…


	3. Hooky

i will follow, if you lead

By Averie

Character and locations property of Amy and Daniel Palladino

If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.-Lewis Carroll (Alice and Wonderland)

Written on January 31, 2005

**A/N**: I'm a little disappointed that no one pointed out my cultural 'mistake' in the last chapter. This is in early 2000; _The Dante Club_ wasn't released until 2003. And I recommend it. Matthew Pearl(e?) rocks. Hopefully someone will point out my 'mistake' in the chapter.

**OrganiclyMe: **More Logan in this chapter, so…  
**Encarta:** Logan screams intrigue, 'tis why I include him in anything at all.  
**Smile1: **Thanks, and, as I said, it's possible I was buzzed while writing it, so if it makes sense…

¥¥¥

January 19, 2000

My families are insane. It turns out that, now that they added the 'Gilmore' to my name, my name is _Lorelai Leigh Gilmore-Hayden-Gilmore_. I never even knew about the first 'Gilmore'. So now, for the rest of my life, I have to sign things _Lorelai Leigh Gilmore-Hayden-Gilmore_. I'm considering running away and joining the circus 'Come on, folks. Come see the amazing bibliophile with three, count 'em! _Three_ last names! Two of them the same!'

And I've started drinking coffee! I used to tell Chris that coffee would be the death of him. And, technically, it was.

Luke just looks at me like I've let him down. It's very, very sad.

The weirdest thing happened yesterday. Luke asked Lorelai out! I knew he liked her—loved her—but I never thoughts he'd have the guts. We were sitting in the diner at closing, Jess was cleaning tables and Luke was berating Lorelai on my newfound coffee addiction, when he suddenly asks her to dinner.

Real dinner. As I said, he was berating her, and out of the blue, "Would you like to go to dinner Friday?" Lorelai just sat there for a few minutes with me kicking her leg and Luke stuttering an apology and Jess laughing. So, she looked up at him, told him she'd love to, and left. Luke walked upstairs in shocked silence, and when I tried to talk to Jess, he ignored me.

Which is odd. The first week I was here, he took much joy in pestering me. And now, he avoids me and ignores me, he won't take my order or try to convince me that Hemmingway is the greatest author since Homer.

Which reminds me: Lorelai is a lover of all things George Clooney and has made me watch 'O Brother, Where Art Thou' twelve times since I got here. I have 'Man of Constant Sorrow' lodged in my brain!

Must continue washing my own brain,  
RLG-H-G

¥¥¥

Rory saved and closed the file, shutting her laptop and exiting her bedroom. She found Lorelai sitting at the table, staring dumbly at her coffee. Rory walked over, sitting across from her, "What's up?"

Lorelai looked up at Rory, furrowing her brow, "Luke asked me out. I'm going out with Luke." She stopped for a moment, "I like Luke… and Luke likes me."

"You might want to communicate with him, to, y'know, set it up. Time, location, dress." She grabbed her mothers' coffee, downing it. Lorelai didn't seem to notice. "C'mon, you, me, work, school. If we don't show up in those places, respectively, we might have issues." Lorelai obeyed, standing and putting on her coat. She didn't move. "Hooky?"

Lorelai looked at her and nodded. "Hooky." She took off her jacket and trudged to the living room.

Rory followed, "I'm gonna go pick stuff up, like food. I'll be back in half an hour." She walked to the door, putting on her boots and coat on before heading out the door.

First she headed to Doose's, getting essential junk foods for Lorelai and real food. Then she headed to the video store, using her cell phone to order pizza and Chinese while she rented videos. She picked up some essentials at the beauty supply store and a few books from the book store before picking up the pizza and Chinese. By the time she got to Luke's, she was full.

"Shouldn't you be in school?"

She turned to see Jess glaring at her, "First, I could say the same to you. Second, what the hell is wrong with you. Third, will you help me carry this home?"

His glare softened as he looked at the pile of stuff she was gesturing, "Can't gotta work." He tossed her some keys, "Take the truck."

She caught the keys, "No license."

"It's Stars Hollow."

"Yeah, well…" She trailed off, "Where's Luke?"

Jess rolled his eyes, "Upstairs on the sofa. He's a little… off about last night."

"As is Lorelai." She replied, "Oh, that reminds me," she shoved the keys in her pocket, "Half a dozen coffees to go, half a dozen donuts, half a dozen muffins. Any left over Danishes you may or may not have. Please."

He disappeared and she sat, he returned moments later with three bags and two drink holders. "Recipe for disaster, Gilmore."

"Hayden-Gilmore."

He sighed, setting down her stuff, "Fine, 'Recipe for disaster, Hayden-Gilmore'."

She shook her head, "No, keep the first Gilmore, 'Recipe for disaster, Gilmore-Hayden-Gilmore'."

He raised an eyebrow and she handed him some money, "Crazy families. Keep the change."

"The whole three cents?"

She looked at the pile, then him, "Please?" He shook his head, "I'll show you something no one else knows about."

"Where?"

She smiled, "Wait and see."

"Fine." He helped her carry everything to Luke's truck, setting it in the passenger seat. "Show me."

She contemplated for a moment before sticking her tongue out at him.

He raised his eyebrows, at least partially surprised, "You have your tongue pierced."

"Why do you think I don't open my mouth very much when I talk, bad rearing?"

He rolled his eyes, pushing her into the driver's side, "Good bye, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore-Hayden-Gilmore."

"Good bye," she smiled at him, "Jess Anthony Mariano" She closed the door, and drove off.

¥¥¥

Rory had to take two trips to bring everything in, Lorelai eying her all the time, "How'd you get home with all that?"

"Jess lent me the truck." She replied, shrugging as she set out pizza, Chinese, donuts, Danishes, muffins, coffee, soda, candy, cookie dough, ice cream, chocolate cake, and juice boxes.

"You got juice."

Rory shook her head, "No actual nutrition value, plus if you light them on fire, they boil."

Lorelai smiled as she looked at the spread, knowing that Rory had done this for Chris when he'd started freaking out about his relationships. "What movies did ya get?"

Rory lifted up a bag, "Willy Wonka; O Brother, Where Art Thou?; Dead Man on Campus, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Gone With the Wind. So, everything is totally awesome, or totally mockable."

"Killer." She smiled, "Pop one in."

Rory did as she was told, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

¥¥¥

An hour, one pizza, a box of muffins, six coffee's, twelve soda's, and fifteen matches later there was a knock on the door. Rory jumped up, got it. "Jess, hi."

"Hey. How's it going?" He shoved his hands in his pockets, warding off the chill.

"Good," She looked back at her mother, then Jess, "How's Luke?"

Jess shrugged, "Needs his truck."

"MMkay." She replied, digging the keys out of her pocket.

He looked at her hard, his head tilted to the side, "You have a boyfriend."

"Yeah…"

He nodded, "So, if no one knows about the stud, then you're Mormon or he's stupid."

She rolled her eyes, "I meant no one here."

Shaking his head, he replied, "You promised."

"Oh, c'mon. Like, four people in the world know. Including you."

"I don't give up." He raised an eyebrow.

She shook her head and shrugged, "I have nothing else that everyone doesn't know about."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Tonight. Bridge. Eleven. Even a second late…"

He shot her a cocky grim before turning around and walking to the truck. She shut the door and returned to the living room, "Who was that?"

"Jess, had to get the truck."

She nodded, "It's winter, wear a jacket. Be careful don't try to walk on the ice. If you're out past midnight, I will kill him." She smiled and went back to the movie and the food.


	4. Invitation

»i will follow, if you lead  
»by Averie  
»No © infringement intended or incurred.  
»If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there-Lewis Carroll (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)  
»Written January 8, 2005

**A/N**: Once again, no one pointed out my pop culture 'mistake'. 'O Brother, Where Art Thou' wasn't released on VHS or DVD until early 2001. It wasn't even in theaters until December 2000. I'm going to stop making 'mistakes' in my pop culture, I only turn up disappointed. (smilie face)

¥¥¥

January 19, 2000 (Continued)  
Lorelai started keeping a digital diary today. I showed her how, and she fell in love. And then she called Luke and they stuttered back and forth for an hour and a half, but they decided Luke will pick here up at seven and they'll go to dinner within an hour driving range. And I will disappear for the night so that I don't have to listen to them going at it like rabbits. I'm suddenly glad I put a lock on my room.

Moving on…

I'm meeting Jess at the bridge tonight. I really hope he's late. Really, really hope.

Well, it's about time to meet him, adios.

Needles are fun,  
Rory G-H-G

¥¥¥

She rushed out of her room, put on her coat, and left. She ran to the bridge and looked at her watch, which she'd previously set with the news station.

Ten... Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One… Zero.

He showed up as her watch hit 11:06.

"I'm late, aren't I?" His hands were, once again, shoved in his pockets.

She smiled, nodding. "Nyah, nyah." She stuck her tongue out for a moment before sucking it back in, "No surprise."

"Okay." He shrugged, sitting down and waiting for her to follow suit. When she did, he began to speak. "Did you hear them on the phone?"

She nodded, "Majorly pathetic. Afterwards, Lorelai told me that I have to stay somewhere else Friday. She wouldn't admit as to why."

"Mmhmm," he nodded. "They'll be goin' at it like lions." He lay back… "Where you going?"

…and she followed suit. "Well, some friends from back west are coming in for the weekend and were all congregating at Logan's."

"Have fun with that." His voice held more sarcasm than he'd intended.

She just chuckled, "First, you don't know my friends. Second, what is your issue with Logan?"

He shrugged, not really having an answer, "No 'issues' with Logan." He ran a hand through his hair, "Did I just finger quote?"

She nodded, here hair bouncing with her head, "Yeah." After several seconds of silence, she spoke again, "We'll pick you up at… seven-thirty?"

"I'm not going to your stupid party."

She nodded, rolling her head to face him, "Yes, you are. Either that, or immediately get over whatever issue you have with Logan." She batted her eyelashes cartoonishly, "Actually, only three people know about my tongue, including you."

He turned on his side, his head resting on an outstretched arm, "How did you miscalculate?"

"Sometimes I forget Chris is dead," she replied, simply.

"Who are the other two people? I'm guessing Logan is one."

She shrugged, "My friend, Miranda. She actually did the piercing." She giggled, "But only after Chris signed the slip."

After several more minutes of silence, he broke it, "So, you did a cross country relationship at fifteen?"

"Yes, that I did." She smiled sadly, "A lot of work."

He bit his lip, "You must trust him a lot."

"Not a chance in the world." She smirked at his confusion, immediately switching gears, "I've never had a reason to distrust him, to my knowledge. I've also never had a reason _to_ trust him."

"Are you going to, somehow, force me to go to your stupid party?" He raised an eyebrow, reaching a hand to play with a lock of her hair.

She swatted his hand away, "I'll read '_A Farewell to Arms'_ again, and do that 'notes in the margins' thing."

"Hmm, reading Hemingway _and_ defiling a book." He thought a moment, "'_A Farewell to Arms_' and '_In Our Time_', notes in both."

"'_In Our Time_' and '_The Sun Also Rises_', notes in both. With pencil."

He rubbed his chin, "You drive a hard bargain, Gilmore-Hayden-Gilmore."

She swatted his arm, "I'm getting the fixed." She smiled coyly, "Do we have a deal, Mariano?"

"Deal made." He nodded a confirmation.

Rory sat, stood, and walked away without another word.

¥¥¥

"You're late," Lorelai sing-songed as Rory entered the house.

Rory lifted her arm, looking at her watch, "I'm three minutes early."

Lorelai pouted, "School night, stop disproving me and go to bed."

"You don't want details?" Rory asked, raising her brows at her eternally curious mother.

Lorelai perked instantly, pulling her daughter down to the sofa with her, "Speak."

Rory rolled her eyes, "He was late; I have to read Hemingway, and defile two books. He's coming to Logan's Friday."

"Hey!" She looked slightly miffed, "When do I get to meet the prestigious, yet elusive, Logan Huntzberger?"

Resting a thoughtful hand on her chin, she drummed her fingertips against her lips before lowering the hand, "Saturday." She stood, stretching. "As you said, school night. Time for bed, bye." And she went to her room.

¥¥¥

Please review. I know that I write a little sloppily, but it's habit. Good day, don't die!


	5. Changes

i will follow, if you lead  
By Averie  
Character and locations property of Amy and Daniel Palladino  
If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.-Lewis Carroll (Alice and Wonderland)  
Written on January 14, 2005

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January 21, 2000

Wahoo, party night. Just me, Logan, and a hundred and fifty of his closest friends. And Jess, I haven't quite figured out where he belongs in the description of my social world. This is hurting my head in a huge way.

Actually, Jess is just one huge confusion. Lorelai says it's because I like him, the woman is cracked. All I know is that he's like this ominous black cloud thing that Logan hates. Who hates Logan. I see a pattern. Argh, guys.

Well, Logan's here, Later Days.

Love,  
Rory

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Rory closed her laptop and exited her room, jogging to the front door. She was only marginally surprised when Jess was on the other side of the door. "Hey, come on in." She opened the door wider, granting him entrance.

He didn't move, "Nah, I'll just wait out here."

She shook her head, tugging him inside, "Its ten degree's outside, get in here."

"Doesn't bug me," he replied simply, shrugging.

"Fine, freeze." She started to shut the door, but stopped, looking at him. "Please come inside? I'll feel guilty if I leave you out there."

Jess simply rolled his eyes, but stepped into the Gilmore house. "You do that reading yet?"

She nodded, "Yeah. You know where I keep the books."

"Yeah." He walked toward her bedroom; and her towards the stairs. "Where you goin'?"

"Upstairs. Don't damage anything." She hurried up the stairs and into the bathroom, grabbing the brush off of the toilet tank and an elastic off of the sink before swiping her hair into a ponytail, brushing it smooth and securing it with an elastic. She heard the doorbell and looked at herself in the mirror once before quickly descending the stairs.

"What is he doing here?" were Logan's first words to her as he stepped out of the foyer.

He eyes widened in a 'Duh!' as she replied, "Coming with. I informed you about this yesterday."

Logan nodded, insuring her that he knew, "The deal was that we were picking him up at _Luke's_."

"Chill." Jess stood in front of Logan, holding up the Hemingway books, "Wanted my books back."

Logan shook his head, "That's bullshit."

"How is that bullshit, Logan?"

He watched her as she spoke before snatching one of Jess' books and holding it up, pointing to the cover. Jess grabbed the book back and Logan spoke, "You don't read Hemingway. You _hate_ Hemingway."

Rory's eyes widened, once again, recognition dawning on her, "This is jealous boyfriend crap?"

Jess gave her the same look she'd given Logan when she reached the living room.

"Shut it, Mariano." She turned her attention straight to Logan, "Get out of my house."

"Come on, Ror. You can't be serious."

"Yes I can. You don't trust me. As a rule, in most relationships when one partner doesn't trust the other it's due to guilt on the distrustful partners side." Her tone was matter-of-fact, "Which leads me to believe that you're probably screwing someone, and I know it isn't me. So, get the hell out of my house before I call the police."

He raised an eyebrow, "And who's that? Kirk?"

She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "No, but I'm sure he will be someday. Now get out of me house."

"I'm not moving from this spot until you tell me why Jess is _really_ here."

Rory stood stock still, her stance defensive. And in one swift motion, Jess clocked Logan.

Rory rushed over to them, "What the hell did you do that for?"

"He pissed me off," Jess replied, shaking his hand.

Logan lay on the floor, hand over his eye. "That's nice. Say, someone wanna give me a hand here?"

After several minutes, Rory helped Logan up. Then she held the door open while Jess pushed him out. She called after him, "Drive safe," before shutting the door.

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"Okay, I know how absolutely exhilarating that was for you, but where will we go?" Jess held onto Rory's upper arms as he spoke to her.

Rory shrugged, "_Luke's._"

Jess nodded, "Flaw in your plan, Luke wants me out of the apartment."

"Go to the apartment."

He shook his head, "Did you not hear me?"

"Okay." She led him upstairs and into her mothers room, gesturing to her mothers bed, "Lorelai's bed, you've seen Luke's bed." She pulled him further into the room, pulling open the drawer on the nightstand, "Lorelai's condom supply, you'll never see Luke's condom supply." She looked at him, smiled, and blinked once, "Understand."

He nodded, understanding her deductions perfectly, "Brilliant deduction, Watson. But if they stumble into the apartment, all hot and sweaty and lusty and screwing and scarring me for life, you will pay."

She nodded once, her ponytail bobbing cheerfully, "Dually noted, Mr. Holmes."

He descended the stairs ahead of her, moving to her bedroom and straight to the bookshelf.

She entered the room, minutes later, with a duffle bag. She threw in some clothes and zipped it up. "Ready when you are."

"Give me a minute." He flashed her his index finger without looking at her.

She rolled her eyes and retreated to the living room, grabbing a few movies. Another knock sounded on the door and she hurried to answer it, "What are you doing here?"

Tristan DuGrey stood, uncomfortably. "Don't shoot the messenger. Remember that, because I'm only the messenger for my lying, cheating, stealing, whore of a girlfriend."

"Get on with it, DuGrey, I'm busy."

It was at that moment that Jess entered the foyer, proclaiming: "I think you stole my book."

Rory turned to see him, now stripped of his shoes and jacket. She grabbed the book before handing it back to him, "Yeah, I'm done. Just get everything back on; we need to leave before Lorelai and Luke decide dinner is over." She turned back to Tristan, "What?"

"Well, I was going to mention something about Logan, but I get the distinct feeling you've moved on." He scratched his chin.

She nodded, "A whole hour and a half."

Tristan shook his head, "I don't want to know this."

"That's because you're a pervert and you think I'm saying I spent an hour and a half doing the deed. Guess again." She sighed at his clueless expression, "Get a cranium, DuGrey. Go back to your lying, cheating, stealing whore of a girlfriend."

"Don't want to." He shrugged, "She's a little pregnant."

Rory rolled her eyes, aware of Summers aptitude for pregnancy, mostly due to wanting it. "Congratulations."

Tristan shook his head, "Kinda why I'm here. Not my kid." He smirked, "Give you one guess."

She smiled sweetly at him, "Logan. Now, why are you still here? Is it because you think you'll get some, or because Papa DuGrey is at the time of year where he's trying to impress associates by being 'family oriented'?"

"Former."

Her smile stayed in tact. "Okay, list of people I'd have sex with before I ever considered Tristan DuGrey…"

Jess listened to them talk around the corner, everything stopping with one name.

And then, he registered her voice trailing off, listing the creepy _Doose's_ cashier, Dean Forrester; Taylor Doose; Kirk Gleason; Pinhead; and a slew of other people.

He stumbled into the foyer, his shoes feeling foreign on his feet, "Ready?" In his daze, he didn't wait for an answer and ran straight into Tristan.

"Whoa, dude. Calm down." He looked at Jess, "You all right?"

Jess zoned as he made his wayaround Tristan and out the door.

Rory ran into the living room and grabbed her bag before pushing Tristan outside and locking and shutting the door. She looked at Tristan, "I won't be home tonight. Make sure Logan knows I'm spending the night with Jess, but don't let him know where. Thanks, DuGrey." And she ran after Jess.

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She'd given him plenty of time, hours. Two, to be exact. It was eleven, and Jess was still sitting on the sofa in Luke's apartment.

Intervention time. She sat beside him, handing him one of Luke's beers, "What's up?"

He gulped down the first half of the bottle quickly, "Jimmy Mariano is my dad," he confided, his head low and brow thoughtful.

"Okay. Now I need to know where the shock is registering from, because Jimmy's a pretty okay guy. He's got that Sasha chick, the pretty one with the daugh—"

"He left, when I was a kid. Said he was going to the store and we haven't heard from him since." He guzzled the rest of the beer, setting the empty bottle on the floor. He angled his head to look at her, "I really hate him."

Her brow furrowed in anxiety, "Maybe you should talk to him."

Jess shook his head, resting his elbows on his knees and his closed eyes on the heels of his hands. "Or maybe I shouldn't."

"Or maybe," she rested her hand on his thigh, "You should give him a chance. Jimmy's done a lot in the past year." She leaned her head on his shoulder, not really paying attention. "He's changed a lot."

He shifted his head so he was looking at her, "Or maybe I should let him rot."

She shifted her head, a ghost of a smile on her lips as she looked into his eyes. After minutes that passed like moments, she knew what to say.

And he wouldn't let her. As soon as her mouth opened, he cut her off, his mouth on hers. A part of him told him to stop, pull back and pretend it never happened, but then she began to reciprocate.

Meanwhile, Rory could feel part of herself likening this to a soap opera; you know it'll have bad results but you just can't help it.

Both tried to push the doubts to the back of their minds, failing miserably. But when Rory pulled away, it was to pull off his shirt.

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Luke looked at his watch as he entered the apartment, glad he'd asked Caesar to open since it was after three and he was definitely not going to be up in time to open. It had been an, overall, swell night. Until he stepped into the living room. He froze before grabbing the phone and dialing the too familiar number.

"'Ello." Came her voice, oddly tired compared to only ten minutes ago.

He panicked, "Rory and Jess."

"Yeah." It was drawn, "Their in Hartford."

"No their not!" A harsh whisper. "They are sleeping. In my living room, and my guess is that their not exactly dressed for the weather under that sheet!" Hushed whisper.

And she was awake, "What!" She groaned, "Do you have any proof of these allegations?"

"Jess' ass." He replied, staring at the fridge.

Lorelai paused, thinking, "Get back over here!"

"What? Is that what you're supposed to do?"

Lorelai shook her head before realizing he couldn't see her, "No, but if they wake-up and you're there…" she trailed off.

"Yeah, I'll be right back."

And he was. Five minutes later, he was back inside the Gilmore house.

Lorelai looked up at him as he entered the kitchen, smiling weakly. "Water's on the stove, you know where the tea bags and mugs are."

He grabbed a mug and a tea bag, placing the teabag in the mug before turning off the stove and adding the water to the cup. He sat down across from her, "What happened?"

Lorelai shrugged, "I don't know. Last I knew, they were going to a party at Logan's fathers estate. I'm trying to figure out how it progressed from them going to Rory's boyfriend to them going to the apartment and copulating." Her eyes widened, "Were they careful?"

Luke looked at her, his face showing that this was definitely not his favorite subject, "I have no idea! Do you think I searched?" He shook his head, "No."

"Relax, hun." She worried her bottom lip, "Everything will be fine. I hope."

"Jess better be prepared for a flogging." He took a sip before answering Lorelai's questioning gaze, "No matter how much Rory hate's this town, must of it's people would kill for her. And, considering, if anyone finds out it's only a matter of time before someone who's serious about her decides they don't like Jess."

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Sorry this sucks, but I have the worst writers block in history. I wrote this chapter in a million different ways with a million different outcomes, and (sadly) this was the best.

Oh, but next chapter should be fun to. Also, in the next chapter, we get a good old fashioned blast-from-the-person-who-barely-recognizes past. Which means someone's making a surprise visit!

Will it be Richard and Emily or Rachel or Liz or...

Well, doth shalt reveiw or face thee wraith of a mighty warrior.


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